BOLD CLIMATE ACTION
Fiercely Protecting California’s Central Coast Since 1970
Impact
Report
2021-2025
CEC’s Legacy:
50+ Years of Environmental Leadership
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Founded one of the nation’s first ecology centers
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Founded one of the nation’s first learning and research community gardens
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Opened one of the nation’s first community recycling centers
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Pioneered hazardous waste collection and curbside recycling
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Helped pass California’s recycling law, the first in the nation
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Built the Watershed Resource Center at Arroyo Burro Beach
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Shifted CEC’s mission to focus on climate change
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Published one of the nation’s first carbon neutrality plans
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Installed the first Rethink the Drink water bottle refill station in a local school
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Launched a solarize program that helped nearly 1,000 homeowners and nonprofits install solar
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Published a countywide community-driven food action plan that led to the launch of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network
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Secured city commitments to 100% renewable energy
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Achieved Community Choice Energy for most of the region
Co-founded the Central Coast Climate Justice Network
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Secured our region’s first wind farm
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Named California Nonprofit of the Year
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CEO Sigrid Wright named Congressional Woman of the Year
Began concierge services that have helped nearly 3,000 individuals and businesses access incentives for renewable energy and energy-efficient solutions.
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Opened our region’s first Environmental Hub in downtown Santa Barbara
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Trained and certified our 227th (and counting) CEC Climate Steward
For 56 years, the Community Environmental Council has strategically catalyzed change on the Central Coast, influencing California and beyond.
2021-2025 Strategic plan
A Strategy for Climate Action on the Central Coast
Climate progress requires action across multiple systems at once — from reducing emissions to restoring ecosystems and strengthening community resilience.
In 2021, the Community Environmental Council launched a five-year sprint to accelerate climate solutions across California’s Central Coast. The plan focused our work on the areas where local action can drive meaningful change. This framework has guided CEC’s programs, partnerships, and policy leadership across the region.
FIVE-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS:
Unlocked millions in climate dollars for Central Coast communities
Built the Environmental Hub as a center for climate action and community connection
Accelerated the region’s shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy
Strengthened regional planning for wildfire, heat, and climate impacts
Reverse
Accelerating the transition to clean energy and transportation
Reducing climate impacts requires transforming how we power our homes, businesses, and transportation systems. CEC works with partners to expand access to renewable energy, accelerate electric vehicle adoption, and advance policies that move the Central Coast toward a zero-carbon future.
Major Wins
Expanded access to clean energy across the Central Coast
Put electric vehicles within reach for working families
Advanced policies and programs to reduce reliance on fossil fuels
Ensured clean energy benefits reach low-income communities
Our Partners
145+ Active Partnerships
The Community Environmental Council believes that it will take all of us, working together in new ways, to solve the climate crisis. Bound together by a shared sense of urgency and accountability, we are partnering with businesses, organizations, schools, and governments on specific climate actions to accelerate progress and build a community of resilience.
- 350.org Santa Barbara
- Access Clean California
- Adelante Comunidad Conejo
- Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation
- Arsht-Rock Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance
- Beachside Babes Market
- Biodiverisity Working Group
- Blue Sky Center
- Bluedot Living
- Breathe California
- Buen Vecino
- Cachuma Resource Conservation District
- California Climate & Agriculture Network
- California Coastal Conservancy
- California Department of Food and Agriculture
- CarpEvents
- Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)
- Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition
- Central Coast Climate Collaborative
- Central Coast Climate Justice Network
- Central Coast Community Energy
- Central Coast Riviera Roses
- Central Coast Soil Hub
- Children and Family Resource Services in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Promotores Network and the Santa Barbara County Education Office
- Citizens' Climate Lobby
- City of Carpinteria
- City of Goleta
- City of Guadalupe
- City of Lompoc
- City of San Luis Obispo
- City of Santa Barbara
- City of Santa Cruz
- Civic Well Climate First: Replacing Oil and Gas (CFROG)
- Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District
- Collective Cultures Creating Change (C4 Lompoc)
- Community Housing Development Corporation
- County of San Luis Obispo
- County of Santa Barbara
- County of Ventura
- Cuyama Valley Unified School District
- Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee Santa Barbara
- Driving Clean Assistance Program
- Earth Advocates
- Ecology Action
- EcoStiks
- Electric Ride 805
- Electrify America
- Environmental Defense Center
- EV Advocates of Ventura County
- Explore Ecology
- Farallon Strategies
- Friends of State Street
- Future Leaders of America
- Gaviota Agriculture Project
- Gaviota Coast Conservancy
- Gaviota Givings / Orella Ranch
- Girls Inc. of Carpinteria
- GRID Alternatives
- GrizzlyCorps
- Guadalupe Business Association
- Guadalupe Union School District
- Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center
- Harris Gaviota Farm
- Heal the Ocean
- Human Rights Watch - Santa Barbara Committee
- Kermit McKenzie Intermediate School, Guadalupe
- Last Chance Alliance
- Leading from Within
- League of Women Voters Santa Barbara
- Legacy Works Group
- Lompoc Unifed School District
- Los Padres Forest Watch
- Make Polluters Pay
- McGinnis, Environmental
- MiniNature Reserve
- Mission Refill
- Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)
- MOVE Santa Barbara County
- Native Coast Action Network
- Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council
- Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
- Planet Protectors Santa Barbara
- Quail Springs Permaculture
- Repair Cafe Santa Barbara
- Rooted Language Justice
- Rooted Santa Barbara County
- Route One Farmers Market
- San Luis Obispo Climate Coalition
- San Luis Obispo County Public Health
- San Luis Obsipo County Air Pollution Control District
- Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
- Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
- Santa Barbara Clean Energy
- Santa Barbara Committee of Human Rights Watch
- Santa Barbara County Action Network
- Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District
- Santa Barbara County Association of Governments
- Santa Barbara County Fire Department
- Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council
- Santa Barbara County Food Action Network
- Santa Barbara County Green Business Program
- Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative
- Santa Barbara County Wildfire Resilience Collaborative
- Santa Barbara High School Environmental Advocacy Club
- Santa Barbara Independent
- Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History / Ty Warner Sea Center
- Santa Barbara News-Press
- Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
- Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Collective
- Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office
- Sharyn Main Consulting
- Sierra Club, Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter
- Society of Fearless Grandmothers Santa Barbara
- Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH)
- Strong Towns Santa Barbara
- Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG)
- Sunkissed Pantry
- The Climate Center
- The Fund for Santa Barbara
- The Nature Conservancy
- Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN)
- TV Santa Barbara
- UC Office of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program
- UC Office of Agriculture and Natural Resources, UC Environmental Stewards
- UC Santa Barbara 2035 Initiative
- UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science & Management
- UC Santa Barbara California NanoSystems Institute
- UC Santa Barbara Central Coast Sustainability Summit
- UC Santa Barbara Environmental Leadership Incubator
- UC Santa Barbara Environmental Studies Program
- UC Santa Barbara Sustainability Department
- Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara
- United Nations Association, Santa Barbara
- Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District
- Ventura County Air Pollution Control District
- Ventura County Fire Safe Council
- Ventura County Public Health
- Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance
- Ventura County Resource Conservation District
- Ventura County Sustainability Division
- Ventura County Wildfire Resilience Collaborative
- Vernon and Mary Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration
- Visión y Compromiso
- Westmont College
- White Buffalo Land Trust
- Women in the Water Santa Barbara
Our 2025 Investors
The Community Environmental Council makes an impact on the long-term health of our region by taking specific actions on the ground, while also working to transform a web of systems to reverse, repair, and protect our climate. Our work is made possible by the generous support of our investors.
Thank you to the following individuals and organizations who made generous contributions in 2025 through cash gifts and grants, pledge payments, event sponsorships, and in-kind donations.
$250,000-$499,999
James S. Bower Foundation1
$100,000-$249,999
Anonymous
Dorothy Largay & Wayne Rosing1
Charles & Betsy Newman1
Patricia Bragg Foundation
Michel Saint-Sulpice & Mary Staton1
Zegar Family Foundation1
$50,000-$99,999
Anonymous Yardi1
$25,000-$49,999
Mary Becker1
Katie Davis1
Gene & Deanna Dongieux
Timothy Hade
Living Peace Foundation
Dhilan Shah
$5,000-$24,999
Anonymous (2)
Adrian Giving Fund
Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation
Allen Construction
Ann Jackson Family Foundation
Wendy & Chris Blau
Diane Boss1
California Community Foundation
Central Coast Community Energy (3CE)
Chevrolet
City of Santa Barbara
Jon & Susan Clark
Carolyn Cogan, in memory of Jules Zimmer1
Marcia & John Mike Cohen
County of Santa Barbara
The Crawford Idema Family Foundation
Sheila & Tom Cullen
Jennifer Cushnie & Dennis Allen1
Dancing Tides Foundation
Deckers Outdoor Corporation
Ann Dusenberry & Brad Fiedel
Mary Ehrmann
Carolyn & Andrew Fitzgerald1
Martin & Kerrilee Gore
Belle Hahn
The Hubbard-Stauffer 1999 Trust
Karl & Nancy Hutterer1
David Jackson & Stefanie Sohn Jackson / Zegar Family Fund
Heidi Jensen & Ronald Winston
Karen & John Jostes
Jean Kaplan
Bruce Kendall
Charles D. Kimbell1
The Kind World Foundation
The Kirby-Jones Foundation
MarBorg Industries
Jessica & Michael McLernon1
Mithun Family Foundation
Montecito Bank & Trust1
Maryanne Mott
Natalie Orfalea Foundation
Outhwaite Charitable Trust
Pacific Beverage Co.
Katy Powers
Carrie & Mike Randolph
Paul Relis & Fanny Pearce1
Stanley Roden
Tony & Kyra Rogers
Santa Barbara Foundation
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Herb Schulte
Sea Forward Fund
Anthony Shih (estate gift)2
Anne Smith Towbes & Michael Smith1
Randy & Roxanna Solakian
Nancy Steinberg Barasch
Lisa Stratton & Peter Schuyler
Tomchin Family Foundation
Sally Warner-Arnett & G. William Arnett
Elizabeth Weber
Melissa & Tobin White
Williams-Corbett Foundation
Laura & Geof Wyatt
$1,000-$4,999
Anonymous
Whitney Abbott & Murray McTigue
Sherri & Ronald Adler
Brier & Kent Allebrand
Jill & Corey Anderson
Andrulaitis Mixon Architects
Angela Antenore
Mary Baum & Eric Cantlay
Jocelyn Belloni
Brittingham Family Foundation
Lou Buglioli
Linda Burrows
Bye Bye Mattress
Gail & John Campanella
Colette Carlsson
Central Coast Clean Cities Coalition
Channel Islands Restoration
Cox Communications, Inc.
Crown Dodge
Michele & Bill Cuttler
Deva Dalporto
Dave’s Killer Bread
Truman Davies
Jean & Dave Davis
Christine & Robert DeVries1
Gerald DeWitt
Jennifer Drucker
e-Bikery
Ellen Easton & Gregory Giloth
Kate Edwardson
El Gato Channel Foundation
Emmett Foundation
Jean Farley, in honor of the McLernon Family
Beth & Dodd Geiger
Gold Coast Toyota Dealers
Devon Geiger Nielsen
Ken & Nancy Goldsholl
Sharon Granoff
GreenStart Electrify
Jay & Cynthia Grigsby
Bethany & James Harkrider
Gail & Denis Hayes
Lee Heller
Victoria Hendler Broom
Helena & Gary Hill
Barbara Hirsch
Holdfast Collective
Bonnie & Dick Jensen
Sharyn Johnson / The Goodman Family Foundation
Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation
Martha & Edward Kaufman
Louise LaMothe
Karen Lehrer
Barbara & Albert Lindemann
Ruth Loomer
Elliott MacDougall
Patricia & John MacFarlane
Sharon Metsch
MN Studio
Harvey Molotch
Allen Mosher
Betty & Mike Noling
Joan Pascal & Ted Rhodes
David N. Pellow1
Lois Phillips & Dennis Thompson
Richard Rogalski
Susan Rose
RRM Design Group
Carol Sacks & Matthew Stotts
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments
Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Lynn Sarko & Laurie Ashton
Jo & Ken Saxon
Tana Sommer-Belin
Judy & Jack Stapelmann
John & Suzanne Steed, in honor of John Mike Cohen’s 80th Birthday
Karen & David Telleen-Lawton
The Toland Group, Inc.
Joan & Edward Tomeo
Bicky Townsend & William Goldsmith
Michelle Weinman
Tisha WF Jones
Lisa White
Christel Wittenstein
Bob Wright, in honor of Sigrid Wright and in memory of Forrest R. Wright
$100-$999
Anonymous (2)
Fabiana Acosta
Winter Adams
Rebecca & Peter Adams
Richard Appelbaum, in honor of Paul Relis
Evan Aptaker
James Arthur
Elisa & Joseph Atwill
Janet Barr
Holly Becker
Craig Boehr
Jacqueline Boland
Joseph Bottoms
Geena Bouche
Aniston Breslin
Elizabeth & Norman Brown
Joyce & Roland Bryan
Nicole & Chandler Buie
Kelly Burton
Pamela Bury
Laura Capps
Lois Capps
Juneal Chenoweth
Darlene & Samuel Chirman
Kate Christensen
Isabella & Caldecot Chubb
Barbara Clark
Raymond Clemencon
Marian & Stephen Cohen
Ruth Ann & Michael Collins
Irene Cooke
Michael Cooney
Carol Cottom & Bruce Bradtmiller
Lilyan Cuttler & Ned Seder
The Daisy Restaurant
Carla D’Antonio & Tom Dudley
Adrianne & Andrew Davis
Michael Dean
Lydia Deems & William Prothero
Jarret Ditoro
William Doering
Nancy Dorey
Jane Dow
John Dutton
Sally & Terry Eagle
Nadra Ehrman1
Maureen & David Ellenberger
John Ellis
Robert Else
Vivian Engel
Maria Felice Cunningham & John Cunningham
Susan & Bill Ferguson
Joyce & Terry Fernandez
Fidelity Giving Marketplace
Lena Firestone
Dick Flacks
John Forrest
Nancy Franco & Donald Olson
Carla Frisk & Jeffrey Newton
Victoria Frost
Tish & Dan Gainey
Erin Galbraith
John Gerig
Stephanie Glatt
Mark Golden
Jacob Goodman
Tim Gorter
Mary Gosselin
Penelope & Andrew Gottlieb
Sandra Grasso-Boyd & Bill Boyd
Nicole Green
Paula Gregoire-Jones
Donna Grubisic
Frances Hahn
Jane Hahn
Michael Hamman
Laura Hanson & Mary Jones
William Hanson
Ali Hanson
Laurie Harris
Craig Harris
Gregg Hart
Barbara & Roy Harthorn
Chelsea Hayes
Julie Hayes-Nadler
Heal the Ocean
Lindsay Helmick
Van Henson
Kelly Hildner
Beverly Holley & Philip Fine
Barbara & Joe Howell
Inquiring Systems Inc., in honor of Lily Strong - Earth Diaper Project
Alan Irwin & Harriet Eckstein
Hannah-Beth Jackson & George Eskin
Mary Jacob
Vijaya & Rao Jammalamadaka
Marian Jean
Emily Jensen
Jean & Ivor John
Dennis Johns
Ruth Johnson
Paula Burnham Johnson & Charlie Johnson
Joanie & Colin Jones
David Jones
Richard Kaplan
Carrie Kappel & Carl Palmer
Alex Katz
Sharon Keigher & Libe Washburn
Patricia Kelley & James Buckley
Hugh Kelly
John Koons
Sara Kvaas
David Landecker
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Jennifer LeMay
Lori Lenz
Corey Lester
Jake Lindelof
Rudi Lion
Kirsten Liske
Julie Lopp
Fred Loquasto III
Don Lubach
MacFarlane, Faletti & Co LLP
Pam Maines
Anthony Marzolla
Donna Massello-Chiacos & Lee Chiacos
Marilyn & William Master
Nancy McConnell
Monika McCoy & Russell Chamberlin
Lorraine McDonnell
Janet McGinnis
Laura & Russell McGlothlin
Antoinette & Terry McQueen
Henry Mealy
Joel Michaelsen
Anne & Hale Milgrim
Clare Miner-McMahon
Kimberly Monda
Sheila & Gordon Morrell
Jeanette & Robert Mustacich
Natalie Mutz
Myra Nicholas
Roger Nisbet
William O’Toole
Theo Patterson
Paypal Giving Fund
Tiffany Pelletier
Constance Penley
Ivette Peralta1
Lanette Perry
April Peterson
Gregg Peterson
Kathy Pfeifer
Sarah Pizzaruso, in honor of Ian Hudson
Dolores & William Pollock
Dorrie Powell
Jeanie-Marie Price & Erik Christensen
Anastasia Quintana
Ann & Paul Ricchiazzi
Jimmie Rivera
Patricia & James Robertson
Burt Romotsky
Marian & Steve Rothstein
Roberta Rudnick
John Ruffin
Joan Sanger
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
Peter Sawyer
Christiane Schlumberger
Amy & Nick Schneider
Carol Schwyzer
Jean Sedar
Kimberly Selkoe & Benjamin Halpern
James Selzler
Harriet Sharp
Don Simons
Tammy Sims Johnson & Belma Johnson
Linda Smith
Kristen Sneddon
Kathy Snow & Bendy White
Lynne Sprecher
Keri Stokstad
David Swanson
Debra & Andrew Teton
Gail & David Teton-Landis
Janice & Rob Thomson
Mark Tolentino
Jenna Tosh
Trinity Episcopal Church
Mary Turley
Gebb Turpin
Chris & Stacy Ulep
Jason Wahlund
Alana Walczak
Mary Walsh
Vibeke & Joe Weiland
Peter Wells
Sherri West
Dorene White
Barbara Widmer & David Hennerman
Wildfire Resilience Funders
Nancy Wilkinson
Tracey Willfong
Sara Woodburn
Theresa Yandell
Katherine & Stephanie Yeung
Linda Young, in honor of Wayne Morgan
In-Kind
Acme Hospitality
Boone Graphics
Brander Winery & Vineyard
Branches Mobile Gallery
Cascade Mountain Spring Water
E-Rentals & Tents
Carolyn & Andrew Fitzgerald
Martin & Kerrilee Gore
Maxx Hennard
Islay Events
Katie Hershfelt Consulting
Learningden
Matilija Pure Water Systems
PAGO Companies
Santa Barbara Independent
Holly & Lanny Sherwin
Tutti Frutti Farms
Twenty-Four Blackbirds Chocolate
Tyler Winery
1 All or part of this gift was a fulfillment on a pledge to CEC’s 50th Anniversary Campaign
2 Deceased
2025 Financials
We Won’t stop
working every day to ensure that the California Central Coast is a tangible, real-world model of what healthy, equitable, climate-safe communities can look like.
(and neither should you)
VISIT CEC’s ENVIRONMENTAL HUB
Join us for an exciting lineup of free public lectures, workshops, and special events. View our calendar at envirohubsb.org.
ENGAGE IN CLIMATE ACTION
The climate crisis is daunting. But together, we can solve it. Find out all the ways you can engage by visiting cecsb.org/takeclimateaction.
INVEST IN A CLIMATE-SAFE FUTURE
Your support is critical. Join us in this urgent work by donating today and help ensure a climate-safe future. Give at cecsb.org/donate.
